The present invention relates generally to movable container systems. More particularly, this invention pertains to pivoting or swinging containers and mounting systems.
A container can organize and protect the goods for storage and transport. Containers that are not secured in a vehicle can be dangerous to occupants and do not adequately protect the goods stored therein. Automobiles (e.g., SUVs) are relatively easy to burglarize, and lock boxes are sometimes secured within a vehicle to provide additional theft protection for valuable and/or dangerous items (e.g., guns) frequently stored in the vehicle. In sport utility vehicles (SUVs), the only surface common to most models is a floor of a cargo area. When a container is secured to the floor of the cargo area of an SUV, it is either against the rear seats, along the side, or at the rear of the vehicle (just inside a gate or rear hatch). If the container is secured against the rear seats, then the container is difficult to access from the rear of the vehicle. If the container is secured along the side of the cargo area, then only part of the container is accessible from the rear of the vehicle while the other part is accessible from the rear seat, but the entire cargo area remains accessible from the rear of the vehicle. If the container is secured at the rear of the vehicle, then the container is easily accessed but accessing the cargo area between the container and the rear seat becomes difficult. These problems are particularly pronounced when using containers suitable for storing longer items (e.g., golf clubs and long guns such as rifles and shotguns). For longer containers secured toward a front of the cargo area (behind the second row seats) or longitudinally on one side of the cargo area, third row seats in SUVs become inoperable. Further, longer containers mounted at the side of the cargo area may have locks or retainers at either end requiring a user to release the lock from the rear seat then go to the back of the vehicle to release the other lock before opening the container. With a central lock the user must climb into the cargo area to release the lock. Therefore, containers which are easily moved between at least a couple of positions, yet easily secured for travel are desirable. These same principles apply to truck beds. However, truck beds have a floor and a bed rail, both of which are in a generally standard location and of a generally standard size. Unlike a truck bed, the cargo areas of SUVs provide no bed railing directly over the floor area to which a container system may be secured for selectively pivoting or rotating rearward, allowing access to the cargo area between the container system and the rear seat (i.e., between the container system and the bulkhead for a truck). As a result, no suitable standard anchoring surface exists for attaching a pivoting container system in SUVs.
What is needed, then, is container and mount system which can easily and securely store various goods within a vehicle such as an SUV without reducing a user's access to those goods or to the cargo area of the vehicle.